It’s been a hard month for the folks at the Lone Star Honor Flight Veterans Group. Two Veterans who meant a lot to the group have passed on just one month apart. The first, 93 year old William ‘Wild Bill’ Eustes, passed away in October; and now our song leader, Robert ‘Bob’ Putnam, our 107 year old patriarch, has gone to join his beloved wife Virginia and The Lord. He passed away on November 21st after a short bout with pneumonia. Mr. Putnam was a fixture at 105 for many years, and for me was like a great uncle. He was a cherished reader and made sure to take a paper home with him each week following our Wednesday breakfast gathering.
Mr. Putnam was well respected by all the Veterans of 105, and enjoyed meeting all the guests that visited our group. The girl scouts and other youngsters were especially keen to see Mr. Putnam and wonder at meeting one of the Oldest Veterans in Texas. Robert served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1945, serving on Navy Destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II. Following his service, Mr. Putnam had a long career with Caterpillar before moving to Texas. Mr. Putnam loved to sing, and was always involved with choirs over the decades. Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Putnam led us in singing ‘God Bless America,’ and when we received word that he was hospitalized for what was described as a mild case of pneumonia. Well, we all fully expected him to return. Mr. Putnam had been released from the hospital, so when we were informed on Sunday that our great friend had passed away last Friday, we were all shocked.
At the Houston Texans home opener last season Mr. Putnam was honored, along with 105’s other WWII Veteran George Waters who was 103 years old at the time, on the field after the third quarter. Incredibly, both men were born on June 12th, which is another odd fact that our group holds. It was not the first time that the men had been flanked by Texans Cheerleaders, since Julissa and Francesca had visited 105 for their birthdays in 2024.
Mr. Putnam was indeed a member of the Greatest Generation. He lived in a time when Our Nation was in a time of great uncertainty, when we weren’t sure if Freedom was gonna be there in our future. He was born when the outcome of the First World War was still to be determined. He was aware of the news headlines when NAZI Germany bullied France and England starting with the remilitarization of the Rhineland in March 1936, when the foreshadowing of future conflict in Europe was beginning to present itself. Mr. Putnam was getting ready to graduate high school at that time, with his whole life ahead of him, and little did he know that just seven years later he would be in the belly of a ship on patrol in The Mediterranean Sea during World War II, a time when the whole world was upside down.
It’s incredible to think with all the modern conveniences that we now have, that for Mr. Putnam, he didn’t initially grow up with running water, electricity, or indoor plumbing. Mr. Putnam was originally from Bismark, North Dakota, where his parents were school teachers. When the war started for the United States, on December 7th, 1941, Mr. Putnam was already married and working at Caterpillar in Peoria, Illinois. Of course Caterpillar, following Pearl Harbor, took on its wartime mission, building machines that were crucial in battlefield construction, such as the armored bulldozer, the D7 tractors, which cleared paths and protected troops under fire from enemy attack. By the time that Mr. Putnam was allowed to enlist in 1943, at the age of 25, he would have been considered the ‘old man’ of his section on his destroyer.
Mr. Putnam always said when he was on the destroyer in the Mediterranean, that he was just doing his job. At the war’s end, Mr. Putnam moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he raised four children with his wife Virginia. His love of music throughout his life never faded, and he sang, leading our 105 group in song with ‘God Bless America,’ and at the end of each rendition, he would add ‘Amen,’ which was a touching finish.
Bob Putnam was a legend, and he even published his own book, ‘Putnam Family Adventures in the New World,’ which he admits are humorous stories of fiction. He noted the first legal use of the Putnam surname was in 1086, in England, and that the first Putnam to come to the Americas was 20 years after Plymouth colony in 1630.
Mr. Putnam wrote in the preface of his book: “Some arguments exist about the captain’s first name, whether it was Israel, George, or Robert. He did own the ship, was the captain (quite prosperous) and mainly he had a writ for a substantial amount of land in the new world from the English crown. No record has been found that he ever returned to England to live. Also it is recorded that some kind of plague was active in England at the time, killing many people. I have used these facts to begin my story.” 
Mr. Putnam will be missed by not only his Family and friends, but also his fellow Veterans at 105, who will be remembering, praying for him, and honoring his memory for a long time to come.
Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net